


ROTTMNT X Reader: The X Files

by Dakota_Finely



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fluff, Happy, Happy Ending, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other, ROTTMNT X Reader, Romance, Song Based Stories, Valentines Day Gift, happy endings only
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 21:00:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29356866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dakota_Finely/pseuds/Dakota_Finely
Summary: This is a Valentine's Day Gift for everyone! Here's the list:Rise - Donnie- “A Lovely Night” from La La Land | Cover by Thomas Sanders and Ben J. Pierce- “Best Friend” by Rex Orange CountyRise - Leo- “Never Ever Getting Rid of Me” from Waitress- “Monster” from Adventure Time: Distant Lands - ObsidianRise - Mikey- “Just a Friend to You” by Megan Trainor- “Trouble” by Never Shout NeverRise - Raph- “What the Heck I Gotta Do?” from 21 Chump Street- “The Only Exception” by ParamountRise - April- “Miss Independent” by Kelly Clarkson- “Always On My Mind” by Aoyoru x DjouherI hope you guys like it! You should check out my other stories if you liked this one!
Relationships: April O'Neil (TMNT) & Reader, April O'Neil (TMNT)/Reader, Donatello & Leonardo & Michelangelo & April O'Neil & Raphael (TMNT), Donatello (TMNT) & Reader, Donatello (TMNT)/Reader, Leonardo (TMNT) & Reader, Leonardo (TMNT)/Reader, Michelangelo (TMNT) & Reader, Michelangelo (TMNT)/Reader, Raphael (TMNT) & Reader, Raphael (TMNT)/Reader
Kudos: 35





	1. Rise! Donnie x Reader: “A Lovely Night” [Part 1 of 2]

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Everyone UwU Happy Valentines Day!!](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Everyone+UwU+Happy+Valentines+Day%21%21).



You leaned against the railing as you watched the sunset on the pier with Donnie. A relaxed sigh slowly eased its way out of you as you looked into the ocean. The sight was purely breathtaking for you and after the antics the Turtles often threw you into it was nice to finally breathe. 

It was dark enough the lights began to flick on, lighting up the city across the ocean. A part of you wished it would look like this forever, you glanced to Donnie. Who seemed to be off in thought as always, but a relaxed aura surrounded him. You were both dressed up due to night’s earlier antics. 

You wore Navy blue dress pants and a black collared button-down and an (f/c) bowtie. Though now that was undone, along with some of the buttons you felt were choking you, and loosely hung around your neck. The heels April had somehow convinced you to wear - and she was right, you did feel a bit sexy with those on - were on the floor neatly next to each other. Sleeves rolled up to your elbows though you wished to rip them off completely. 

Donnie was in black dress pants and a white collared button-down. However he went without a tie, buttons were undone down further than you could ever have the confidence of pulling off. Sleeves neatly rolled up to the shoulders. You had to take a separate moment in the restroom to have a casual panic about your crush on the Softshell. 

He looked great, and he could tell.

You put your attention back on the sunset, a silver line stretched across the sea. Almost looking more like an art piece than a real-life moment. A peaceful breeze flew past both of you. You couldn’t help but close your eyes in content, you really did wish this moment could last forever.

“You know, we've stumbled on a view,” Donnie said, breaking the silence unexpectedly, “that’s tailor-made for two.” the statement made you blush. He looked at you with a smile and you could’ve melted into a puddle right there. He looked away and shrugged “What shame, those two are you and me.” you scoffed at his statement and lightly wacked his arm. A smile across your face, this banter was normal for you two. 

“Some other people might love the swirling sky,” He made a theatrical gesture to the clouds that made the sunset look like a Da Vinci painting. You rolled your eyes “But it’s only you and I and we’ve got, no shot.” He looked to you once again, a playful grin across his features. It was infectious, you replicated the smile almost instantaneously “This could never be,” he gestures between you two and you raise an eyebrow “you’re not the type for me.” He tilted his head looking away from you as he shrugged. Eyes closed.

He didn’t look back, so you gave a quiet huff. Moving silently to sit on the railing right in front of him. You crossed your arms as he hadn’t noticed you “And there’s not a spark inside,” he said “What a waste of a lovely night.” he looked back to where you were standing. The shock on his face caused you to snicker. He looked at you and you leaned forward.

“You say there’s nothing here, but let’s make something clear. I think I’ll be the one to make that call.” You booped his snoot and he chuckled. A curious look in his eyes as he looked at you “And what’s your call?” he asked. 

“Though you look so cute in your polyester suit,” You said, jumping down to stand in front of him.

“It’s wool,” he spoke with a shrug, arms crossed. You rolled your eyes at him for that one, shaking your head “Your right, I’d never fall for you at all.” you grinned at him. He gave a playfully offended scoff, and you walked over to your heels. Picking them before walking past him.

It was as if the timing was on your side when you walked under a street lamp. It turned on just as you turned to face him. Hand on your hip you lifted up the heels and looked at him. 

“And maybe this appeals to someone, not in heels.” You say adding your own little shrug as he walked over. “Or to anyone who feels, there is some chance, at romance!” You turned and leaned against him. Head lightly tucked into his neck. You didn’t see the blush that rose to his face, but you felt your own. Realizing the position you’ve put him in, believing you’ve made him wildly uncomfortable. You bolt out of the position. Facing him with a mischievous grin to hide the feelings roaring inside you.

“But I’m frankly feeling nothing.” You say arms crossed you turned away from him partially to calm yourself. “Is that so?” He teases stepping up behind you. You could feel how close he was despite not touching you at all. “Or it could be less than nothing.” you tease back, looking at him with a grin.

“Good to know. So you agree?” he asks jokingly, you turn around to face him. Arms now behind your back “That’s right.” you lean forward just a bit. “What a waste of a lovely night.” the two of you say in unison. Causing you to giggle just a bit at the coincidence before you hear sprinklers. You look over to an open field of just grass across the street, being watered by timed sprinklers. You look over to Donnie and grin, and before he can talk you out of doing what he knew was going through your head. You're rushing over there, tossing your heels just at the edge of the grass you run through. Laughing like a child.

Now, it probably would’ve been safer to put your shoes on and  _ then _ cross the street as there tends to be dangerous debris often discarded across the road. However, luck seemed to fancy you tonight as the road was practically empty of any broken bottles or loose nails, or anything of the sort.

Donnie sighed, a small smile on his face as he crossed the street. Standing next to your heels on the edge of the grass. Watching you prance around, soaking yourself and your clothes. Of course, it didn’t last for long as you yanked him into the splash zone causing him to yelp at the sudden motion and cold water.

You twirled him around, before running off. He didn’t have much of a choice but to chase you as you run through the field. Laughing and tagging one another like it was a game of tag.

You both eventually chased each other to a small park area, wet clothes clinging to your skin. You walked down the concrete with a sigh. A hum coming from you as you smelled fresh pretzels from a nearby pretzel cart.

“You want some?” You asked, looking to Donnie and gesturing to the cart. His stomach growled as an answer and you chuckled a bit at its reaction. You left him there to grab a couple of containers of pretzel bites. He watched and let out a small and love-struck sigh. 

To him, you were this loveable dork who was always curious about what he was doing. Asking him a thousand questions and apologizing as if it was inconvenient for him. You had wonder laced into your eyes and the desire for knowledge in your heart. Sometimes he wonders if it was even possible  _ not _ to fall in love with you.

You came back and handed him a cup of pretzel bites. Walking down the peaceful quiet walkway. The only indication of your presence was the wet footsteps you left behind.

Quiet and playful banter arose from you two every now and again. You lightly crashed into him as a joke. But the unexpected notion knocked him a bit off balance. Quickly without thinking, he put his hand around your waist, pulling himself flush against you to stop himself from crashing.

Neither of you pulled away. Instead, you leaned closer, eyes going between his lips and eyes, asking for permission. He leaned in closer himself as if daring to test the waters. You felt your heart going a mile a minute and wondered if he felt the same. If he even realized what you wanted or if he was clueless about how you felt entirely.

He was so  _ close- _

“There you guys are!” April shouted the two of you pulled away in panic. The moment vanishes but your heart is still going wild. 

“I told you guys Pier 84!” Donnie said as Mikey scooped you up in a hug. You laughed and hugged him back as the group began to walk back to the lair. Mikey looping his arm with yours playfully.

“See, I told you it wasn’t 48!” April said to Leo. Who through his hands up in exasperation.

“Why’d you even trust me with it to begin with!?” he retorted. You chuckled at their conversation and looked to Donnie. Whose whole attention seemed to be on April. Your heart flattered and you turned away and focused on walking to the lair. Before Raph picked you up, telling you it wasn’t safe to walk without shoes, as well as inquiring where your shoes even went.


	2. Rise! Donnie x Reader: “Best Friend” [Part 2 of 2]

_ I should’ve stayed at home _

The bitter part of your brain speaks up, but you shake your head. Looking at the people you love, and who love  _ you _ and argue back. But that doesn’t stop the lonely feeling from settling inside you. Whilst everyone else jumped down the sewer to head back to the lair. You stopped.

“Hey, I think I’m gonna head home.” You say to Raph, who had still been carrying you. You wiggled out of his arms and let your feet touch the cold concrete. He looked at you confused and smiled “You sure? I mean, your barefoot (Y/n).” he states. You put on a fake smile and nodded “Yeah, I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” you walk out of the alleyway giving him a wave. He waves back and goes down the sewer. 

You pulled out your phone as you walked down the street toward your family’s apartment. Scrolling through Instagram almost absent-mindedly as your mind wandered. Your brain flashing to the moment just before the others came over.

_ You could’ve made him yours _

“No, it wasn’t meant to be” you shook your head as you walked faster, copying the speed of your mind “I wasn’t made for him and he wasn’t made for me,” you said to yourself as if it was a mantra.

_ But it seems so easy _

You went to your Gallery, seeing all the pictures of you and your friends. Stopping on one of Donnie, he was making edits to Shelldon. Working all through the night he had passed out on top of the robot when Shelldon turned back on. Shelldon is looking at the camera in distress as Donnie seems to be peacefully sleeping on top of him.

You smiled at the photo as you opened the apartment. Sneaking into your bed, trying to sleep away this feeling. Knowing it wouldn’t work.

\--

“I just wanna be his only one, I wanna be the one that makes his day. The one he thinks about when he lies awake.” You flopped back onto April’s bed. Hands over your face as it flushed red. April sat across from you with Leo.

April and Leo have known about your crush on Donnie for, about a month now. Both trying to encourage you to ask him out with unsuccessful results. Now, every time it was just the three of you- ironically dubbed “Girls Night” as an inside joke between you three -it would have you gushing about Donnie at least  _ once _ throughout the night.

“You just wanna be his number one,” Leo said, repeating a piece of the speech you recited on these nights by memory. April chuckled as you stared at him wide-eyed “Do I always say that?”

“Yes.” the two say in unison. You groan in embarrassment and sit back up, head in hands. April laughs and lightly pats your back. Which didn’t help but hey, she was trying.

“At least you don’t wanna break his heart and make him cry,” Leo said with a shrug, earning a confused look from both you and April. He threw his hands up “I’m just trying to help out okay!?” he exaggerated. It gets you to chuckle, which seems to be his goal as he relaxes a bit.

“Why do you wait?” April asks, leaning against the wall. You shrug, the fear of rejection gnawing at the pit of your stomach. 

Leo’s stomach grumbles and that changes the topic. Asking why the Pizza wasn’t there yet even though it’d only been five minutes since it was ordered. You sigh in a bit of relief at not having to answer the question. Letting the conversation change.

\--

“You just need to be yourself! Love someone for loving you instead of someone really cool who makes your heart melt!” Leo whispered to you as April softly snored on the couch. Insomnia kept you both up on these nights. Letting your conversations drift until you did. Sometimes waking April up with loud, cackling, laughter.

“Cool? Should I tell Donnie you said that?”

“No! Wait! I take it back!”

You laughed, trying your best to control it as April shuffled in her sleep. Giggles slipping through your mouth as you tried to calm down. Leo grinned at you, leaning against the recliner in April’s living room.

You had been recalling what happened a few weeks ago. The feeling of him pressed upright against you nothing more than a faded memory. But as you recalled it, doubt settled in.

“Who knows what he truly felt.” You sighed, leaning against Leo relaxing a bit. He pulled you in a half hug, both of you slowly falling asleep. 

“He’s my favorite boy, there’s no one else more beautiful in this damn world.” You rambled, eyes closed as you entangled your legs in his.

“In this damn world?” Leo repeated to show he was still listening, not yet fully asleep. A quiet smile on his lips at your words. You smiled, knowing he was playfully mocking you. You both sighed, letting sleep engulf you.

\--

You drank the last of your (f/f/d) and tossed it in the trash. Dragging Donnie behind you to the Ferris wheel.

All the guys were at the Fair. Mikey was winning Raph whatever large stuffed animals they could find. April was working so she gave all of you free tickets to the Fair at night. Leo was doing whatever contest he was sure he could win. 

Donnie didn’t know what to do, asking you for suggestions you decided to have him try the rides and the food. The two things you ever really went to the Fair for. You had just gotten him to try a deep-fried Oreo, much to his delight.

“You know it’s not the first time I’ve ridden a Ferris Wheel. Every Fair, Carnival, and Circus tent seems to have one.” He says as the two of you wait in the long line. You smiled at him and nodded.

“Yeah but we  _ just _ ate something. Do you really wanna ride something crazy right after you eat?”

“Compelling argument.” He says with a thoughtful nod, before turning into a playful grin “Yes I do.”

You laugh and lightly smack his shoulder, shaking your head at him as you continue to the Ferris Wheel. You kept trying to see it as  _ not _ a date, but by the mischievous grins from both Leo and April, it seemed like that’s what they were setting you up for.

_ Much appreciated, but pointless efforts _ you thought to yourself, and ache settling into your heart. You shook it away, tonight was supposed to be a happy night between you and your friends. And you were sure Mikey and Raph would have a couple of stories as Mikey tends to get really competitive with gift-giving.

You and Donnie enter a Carriage and peacefully listen to the mechanical creaking of the machine being put to use. Donnie grins as he watches it and you couldn’t stop the smile on your face.

“You just really like listening to machines work huh Don?”

“You know I do! It’s so fascinating to watch the machine actively work  _ against _ gravity.” Donnie began to ramble and you settled into your seat and listened to his voice.

After a bit of long and unnecessary explanation of how a Ferris Wheel worked. You two reached the top of the Ferris Wheel. Looking down below to the bright lights and the ant-looking people down below. A breeze flows by you and you take a deep breath, taking it all in.

Donnie took a sigh and you felt the atmosphere change. You looked to see him nervous fiddling with his fingers as he looked at it. Gulping the air he seemed to barely meet your eyes.

“Hey, (Y/n) can I get something off my chest?” he asked, you looked at him concerned. Moving to sit next to him instead of across you took one of his hands into your own. The change in sitting and you becoming so close to him made him blush heavily.

“What’s wrong?” you asked, not even thinking about how close you were to him now. You were afraid that something bad had happened, or that he was going to say something dire. Thousand different- all wrong by the way -scenarios ran through your head as his breath hitched behind his throat.

Little did you know, Leo and April weren’t just trying to hype  _ you _ up to confess. But Donnie as well, finally saying he would do it if they’d leave him alone to finish up a project. Doing his best to stall up until this point.

“I- uh- it’s just that- well- you see- I-” he let out a frustrated sigh. This wasn’t going like he’d planned in the slightest. He’d even- albeit regrettably -practiced with “Dr. Feelings” to make sure he’d know what to say. But it fell apart as soon as there was no longer a large gap between you and Donnie.

It was his awkward stuttering that made you realize you were too close to him. Believing you had violated his space and comfortability, you backed off. Making Donnie immediately wish you didn’t as cold air filled the space between you two.

“Sorry,” you said with a small laugh, moving to the other end of the seat. A small blush covered your features as you replayed how close you were to him in your mind. He shook his head “No, it’s fine…” he trailed. Unsure of how to carry the conversation back to his initial goal.

“So, what were you trying to say?” You asked as if you’d read his mind. He opens his mouth to answer, only to be cut off by the Ferris Wheel operator.

“Alright, next in line!” She says, opening the carriage door to let the two of you out. You smiled at him before leaving Carriage, helping him out of it you two continued to wander the Fair. He beat himself up for not just getting it over with on the ride, hiding it from you as you led him around.

His mind wouldn’t let it go, no matter how hard he tried to distract himself with rides and games. It nagged at him like Raph does whenever he does something chaotic. It was when you suggested getting funnel cake that it just seemed to spew out of him. The little bottle of feelings he kept for so long seemingly popping open.

“I just wanna be your favorite boy!” He says, catching you completely off guard. You look at him in bewilderment as a blush rises when you realize what he said. He grabs your hands, tears slowly trailing down his face “I wanna be the one that makes your day. The one you think about as you lie awake!” he hiccuped, his thumb running over your hands gently. 

“I wish to be your number- your number one.” he rambled, holding a hand up to his cheek. You were full-on red at this point “I’ll be your biggest fan and you’ll be mine.” he murmured. Watching you closely for a reaction.

You sat there, processing his words with mouth agape. You looked like deer in headlights. He wasn’t sure what you were thinking. If you were trying to find a way to let him down easy, or if you just couldn’t fathom what he said. Believing it was more likely the first instead of the second, oh how wrong he was.

You pulled one hand from his to cup his face gently. There was no way you could respond to him with a coherent sentence. Your brain felt fuzzy and your heart felt wild. You leaned in, gently kissing him on the lips. The action received a slight jump before he hesitantly returned the kiss. Hands moving to your waist as your other hand joined to hold his face. 

You both moved slowly as if the other was a delicate object that would break if either of you were too rough with it. He pulled you closer to him. You hummed in content at the action and you could feel the smile dancing onto his lips. You both pulled away, flushed red and slightly panting for air. 

He smiled at you with a look only described as love-struck. He pulled you in for another kiss.


	3. Rise! Leo x Reader: “Never Ever Getting Rid Of Me”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you ask, no, I don't have a consistent writing style thanks for asking.

“Please just take the mixed Bouquet and leave! Just leave!” You practically begged Leo. Shoving the beautiful array of flowers back into his hands before moving onto helping another customer. Of course, you didn’t actually mean it. But you were busy and afraid of getting your heart broken as many teenagers often do.

In fact, the truth was you were indeed very smitten by the red slider that would visit your bakery every day. (Okay, technically it was your Dad’s and Pop’s Bakery but anyways.) Buying small little snacks and leaving you gifts ever since he found your little hole-in-the-wall bakery. Poorly drawn art, dorky poems and silly little pick-up lines, even flowers like today had presented. 

He would spend what seemed like hours, but truthfully only a few minutes, talking to you every time. Seeing how you were, wondering about your family and your life. Telling you about him. It felt like it didn’t take long for him to win your heart.

Of course, with you focused on the family business and school and chores most of the time you hadn’t even really considered your feelings for the turtle in front of you. Until today, when he asked you out with an array of wonderful flowers that all meant something like “love” and “forever”. Your face lit up like a fiery flame and you quickly just wanted him to depart, so your mind would wrap its head around this- not really -new piece of information.

The customer you had been helping, despite wanting to stay for the gossip, left. Leaving you with an at-the-moment empty Bakery with just you and Leo. Leo, instead of doing as you instructed, put a hand on his heart and another in the air.

“(Y/n)! I promise I won’t let you leave, I promise I’m not lying!” He rhymed, grinning at his cleverness. You couldn’t stop the small smile on your own face as you proceed to give him an eye-roll in response. “Go ahead and ask around for who has seen me trying!” he continued, now it seemed like he was going into song. You giggled and shook your head at his antics, but made no move to really stop him. It was cute, watching him try so hard as if he hadn’t won you over already.

“I’m not going. If it seems like I did I’m probably waiting outside.” He rambled, earning a laugh out of you. In truth, his own heart was racing. The initial reaction from you was the last thing he had really expected. Thinking you two had been- and honestly, you had been -flirting this whole time. The idea of rejection shook him, but the way you smiled and laughed wanted to give him hope. And so that was his goal, to have you laughing and hopefully saying yes.

“Such a stubborn man you’ll likely never find another!” He poked fun at himself, at this point you were leaning on the counter. Head in hands as you listened to him be ridiculous. “When we have our family dinner you can ask my brothers!” He likely regrets this sentence later, but he tried to ignore that for now “They’re the best! You’ll learn about ‘em on our family history test!” boom, more laughter from you gained. It eased his mind and made his heart soar, man he’d fallen for you hard.

_ Now, time to get serious _ he thought to himself lightly taking your hands. The sudden action made you blush but you didn’t pull away or look at him in disgust. This was good.

“I’m gonna do this right! Show you I’m not moving’! Wherever you go I won’t be far to follow!” he said, holding your hands close to his chest. Your mind felt like pudding at this point, brain unable to process this.  _ Was he serious? He looks serious _ you thought to yourself. It was time to test the waters, he let go of one hand, moving to hold your face. You subconsciously leaned into the touch, turning redder- if possible -with each passing second.

“I’m gonna love you so. Show you what I already know. I love you means you're never, ever, ever getting rid of me!” He grinned, meaning every word. You let out a tiny giggle, moving your hand to gently hold the one cupping your face.

“You can try!” That earned a delighted laugh from you, he let go and hopped behind the counter next to you. Grabbing your hands once again, you felt his shaking. His anxiety was getting the better of him despite you obviously being into him “But I, I love you means you're never, ever getting rid of me.” he said, clearly holding back tears. Despite all his best efforts, his brain mocked him and his attempt to gain your heart. You were freaking out a little as you’d never seen him look so scared before. You took a breath.

“I grew up an only child in the downtown of the city. I spent my days alone, my only friend was a stray kitty,” you hoped the next part would cheer him up, as he looked confused on what you were rambling about “called Sardine.” you spoke softly.

“Sardine?” he asked with a weak laugh. You grinned “Yup, I thought it was hilarious to call a cat a kind of fish. She played hard to get, hissed while she scratched me.” You moved both of your hands, filling the space between them. He blushed as you got closer. You shrugged nervously, awkwardly smiling at him “What she was trying to say was ‘(Y/n) come and catch me’ I learned quickly. Perseverance stood between a cat and her new best friend- me!” he still gave you a confused look. Was this a rejection, did you not realize he really was asking you out?

“Oh, I’m gonna do this right,” you sighed, repeating his words from moments ago “show you I’m not moving’! Wherever you go I won’t be far to follow.” he grinned, tears of relief from all that built-up tension rushed out of him. He let go of your right hand to hold your face gently. Bumping his forehead into yours. You giggled a bit as he did so, holding his hand against your face.

“I’m gonna love you so.” He whispered, making your heart flutter the softness of his voice. You took a chance. Moving slowly you lightly pecked him on the lips, the action making him go deep red. Eyes wide despite every, single, sign, you showed to let him know you loved him to. It still knocked the wind out of him. He swooned, making it clear you were one of the only things keeping him from collapsing right then and there.

You giggled.

_ I love you means your never, ever, ever getting rid of me. _


	4. Rise! Leo x Reader: “Monster”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES! This is the ask I got on Tumblr from @crafty-light (go check them out if you haven't already! They deserve some love!) I was kinda proud of it so it replaced my original song-based fic (it wasn't written yet, so no real loss lol) hope you like it!

You’d been practicing the song for weeks. As it was your final for the first semester in your chorus class. You didn’t  _ technically _ have to learn the ukulele. But you were planning to anyways so it’s just two birds with one stone for you.

You tuned the ukulele with a gentle hand. Every time you held the instrument in your hands, it felt like you could break it with the soft pressure of your palm. You strum it again, tuning the last out-of-tune string. Before beginning to play.

Leo was on his way. He’d been itching to come see you, missing you every moment you were gone. And the moment your school ended, he began making his way to your house. Sneaking from rooftop to rooftop with haste. He was young, and in love. In love with someone wonderful and perfect in his eyes.

You, he was deeply,  _ deeply _ , in love with you.

Your laugh, your kindness, the way you walked, the way you stood. The way you spoke, your smile. The way you held everything with a gentle touch as if you were afraid of breaking it with the pressure of your hands. The way you  _ lived _ , and the way you moved. Goodness, was there anything he  _ wasn’t _ in love with about you?

He landed on your fire escape with a quiet creak when heard it.

“You're the pink in my cheeks / And I'm scared 'cause that means / I'm a little bit soft,“ You sang, eyes closed as you immerse yourself in the song. Knowing the tune and the words by heart now.

Leo froze, everything in time stopped as he listened. Practically becoming hypnotized by your voice. Slowly inching closer as he listened, his eyes wide as he stared at you through the window.

Jeez, cause he needed  _ more _ reasons to love you. Falling deeper into a pit he was slowly realizing he couldn’t get out of.

“Don't beat yourself up, Bonnie / It wasn't just the sun that I was hiding from / We were messed up kids who taught ourselves how to live / And I'm still scared that I'm not good enough,” You sang, whether you choose the lyrics because they spoke to you. Or because they swept you up in emotions you couldn’t explain, but felt  _ right _ . Or because you just thought the song was neat didn’t matter.

What mattered was that your voice danced around the room. Making it feel lighter, brighter, an emotion that didn’t make sense yet felt  _ perfect _ in a way you can’t explain. Like sunsets, or star gazing. Something that felt...  _ good _ .

Leo continued to lean in closer, a hand pressing on the window as he tried to immerse himself in your voice. To  _ hear _ you in all your fantastic entirety. When he tripped open the window, falling in with a loud thud as you played the last notes of the song.

You whipped your head around. Partially revealed to only see Leo breaking into your home. But also concerned, as he landed straight on his face. You quickly place your ukulele down and rush over to his side.

“Leo! Are you alright?” You ask as you slide onto your knees. He gets on his own knees, quickly grabbing your hands. A love-drunk look in his eyes as he grinned at you.

“Guess you could say I  _ fell _ for you?” Leo gives a small snicker and you do too. Rolling your eyes as your face began to heat up. Despite having been dating for a couple of months, every time he made a dorky pun. It made your heart flutter.

“You’re alright,” you say grinning at him. He nods and gives you a small peck on the cheek, the two of you moving to stand up.

“So, when were you gonna tell me you could  _ sing _ ?” He asked as he joined you on the bed. You shrug, you never even thought of mentioning it. He jokingly places a hand on his heart, mocking being offended.

“O my dearest lover, do you not care for me enough to tell me of your song birds?” He says with an attempt at a Shakespearean accent. Whatever that really was. You let out a laugh and roll your eyes.

“Doth mine eyes deceive me? Do you laugh at my  _ agony _ ?” he flails his hands around for extra dramatic effect and you lightly whack him with a pillow.

“I think you’ve been hanging out with Donnie too much.”

“Well, he is my brother.”

You scoff and roll your eyes. Leaning against him gently.

“So, mineth, lover-th, how can I make it up to you-eth?” You ask, not really trying the whole Shakespeare thing. He rolls his eyes at your “attempt” but goes along with it. Lightly tossing you your ukulele and getting comfortable.

“Sing that song again, please?” He asks with the flutter of his eyes. You giggle at his antics but oblige.

And you sing for him again.


	5. Rise! Mikey x Reader: “Just A Friend To You”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Confession: I always feel like I write Mikey OOC. I don't know why, it just feels like I don't get the depth of his character through my writing. Like, I KNOW he's more than just that happy-go-lucky character. But, like, I feel like I only write him like that when I'm not trying to. So, sorry if he seems out of character, I tried and that's all I can say.

_ Why you gotta hug me like that, every time you see me? _

Mikey stared at the painting intensely, his brain trying to decide what color to use next. When you popped in, surprising him with a tackle-hug to his side. Knocking him to the floor at the unexpected motion. His focus now on you as you sat on top of him. A blush crossed his face along with a grin. “Hey!” You giggled, helping him up, letting him sit back down as you pulled a chair next to him. 

“You won’t  _ believe _ what happened today!” You began, leaning against him. Mikey couldn’t focus now, colors? What were those? All he could think about was you, leaning against you staring at his half-finished painting. Listening only to you.

_ Why you always making me laugh, swear you're catching feelings. _

You both held each other for support as the two of you laughed. Mikey shook his head “No way!” he cackled in disbelief. You shook your head “Yes way! I swear the guy was just a swirl of cotton candy by the end of it!” you recalled, laughing. 

Mikey’s and your laughter raged for a few more minutes. Before dying down, you hummed with a small content smile on your face as you leaned into the crook of his neck. He went breathless, the action knocking out his brain-cell. It wasn’t like you weren’t affectionate, it's just that every time you were. It made his heart stir up a storm.

He looked down to see your eyes closed, you weren’t sleeping but you were clearly comfortable. A piece of him wondered if you knew how he felt and if you were trying to show that you loved him too.

_ I loved you from the start. _

When you and Mikey got to know each other, it didn’t take long for you two to get along like wildfire. Expressing the same interests in cooking, knitting, music. And the understanding of frustration of being a creator, him an artist, you a writer. You both shared a bubbly personality and a deep understanding of yours, and others, emotions.

It didn’t seem to take long for Mikey to fall for you. Loving the way you expressed yourself, the way you lit up a room. The way you were able to connect with people and love them. The way you seemed to love everything you could see. The way you didn’t flinch, or scream, or pass out when you first saw him and his brothers.

Donnie had told Mikey once that the idea of soulmates had a scientific explanation. That it was the attraction of stardust trying to collect itself again after it had been separated to create what is now the planet Earth.

Mikey started calling you stardust, thinking of what Donnie said. A part of him hopes you’ll see the hidden meaning in the nickname, a part of him hopes you don’t.

_ So it breaks my heart when you say I’m just a friend to you _

You called him your best friend. That was the name in your contact list for him, to his knowledge. That was what you referred to him as whenever you had the chance, or whenever you felt was right. That’s what you reminded him of whenever you tried to cheer him up and make him smile.

It used to make him smile bright. And though it still does, it’s more of a bittersweet taste for him.

_ Friends don’t do the things we do _

Or do they? Was everything he ever thought of as a hint to your own feelings merely a fabrication. His brothers always said he was a daydreamer. But he always thought he was grounded enough to see what was right in front of him.

Now, he’s not sure. You smile at him, and he wonders if it means something more once again.

_ Everybody knows you love me too _

“No, you don’t understand. Confessing to him isn’t easy.” You said to April, munching on popcorn from the shared bowl. You were helping April bake a batch of cookies for some fundraiser she was doing. Right now though, as they baked, you were watching some sort of show. Though, it was more background noise

“How so? You guys are best friends. Even if he rejects you, which  _ again, _ ” she stops to munch on some popcorn herself “I don’t think that’s the case. But even if he  _ does _ , this wouldn’t make you guys stop being friends. It’s Mikey, he doesn’t have a hurtful bone in his body.” She rambles a bit. Throwing her feet onto your lap well taking the popcorn. You let out a whine but don’t actually make a move to retrieve the bowl.

“But, what if-”

“Don’t ‘what if’ me, that’s Donnie’s thing first off.” She cut you off, looking in the eye with a seriousness rarely seen. She held up her hand, holding up the number two with her fingers “Second off, what happened to the kid who's always telling me to ‘take risks’ and ‘live life’?” she asks. You shrug “I also say eat the rich.” you mention. She smiles and rolls her eyes “Not the point of this conversation.” she states with the wave of her hand.

The alarm goes off, shifting the attention from your love life. To the cookies that still needed decoration.

_ Trying to be careful with the words I use _

You threw away another “failed” love letter. Every time you tried to  _ say _ how you felt to him, you fell short. Making a joke or changing the topic to something completely random. So you did it with the one thing you were good at.

Writing.

Well, it was more of you trying to. Nothing felt right, nothing felt perfect. And if it wasn’t perfect then what was the point? You had to get this right, for him. He deserved the best. And you felt you weren’t it.

You let out a growl of frustration as you threw away another “failed” love note. Cracking your knuckles before trying again. 

You  _ were _ going to get this right. Even if it took forever.

_ I say it ‘cause I’m dying to. I’m so much more than just a friend to you _

At least, that’s what you both hoped.

You both leaned against the walls of your respective rooms. Wondering if the other was even thinking about you now. Hoping that maybe it was the same way you thought of each other.

_ When there’s other people around, you never wanna kiss me _

You marched over to Mikey while he was sitting with his brothers. Chatting away about the recent skateboarding event before noticing you come into view. Surprising him with a forceful shove of a letter into his hands. Speed walking away before he had a chance to ask what it was for and why you looked so serious and scared handing it to him.

It was labeled “Stardust”.

_ You tell me it’s too late to hang out and say you miss me. _

You were avoiding any and all calls and texts. Avoiding April at school and trying not to go out if you could help it.

Despite all, you preached to not take people's words with more than a grain of salt and live out what you desire. When it came down to it, you always felt like it mattered. And with him, it especially mattered.

You hear a gentle knock on your window. 

Your breathing hitches, going as slowly as possible to open up the curtain. Seeing, to your dread as much as your delight. A grinning Mikey waiting to be let in. His smile was infectious as you opened the window to let him in.

Getting a surprise tackle-hug to the ground as you did. You gave a loud yelp as you both fell to the floor. Mikey kissing your cheeks and your forehead relentlessly. You blushed and giggled, laying there and letting him kiss you. Eventually sitting up and leaning against your bed he cuddled into you.

He stopped, looking into your eyes. You realized what he was after when he took a slight glance at your lips. You smiled, slowly closing the gap between you as you kissed him gently. The both of you melted like butter into it. He hugged you close, well, as close as he could sitting on your bedroom floor.

You both slowly pulled away, grinning like idiots at each other. Mikey lightly knocks his forehead against yours with content. Letting the two of you sit in joyful silence, just embracing each other.

_ So much more than just a friend to you. _


	6. Rise! Mikey x Reader: “Trouble”

“I’m in trouble, I’m an addict! I’m addicted to this girl!” Your speakers sang as you spray-painted another layer of color. Taking just a moment to appreciate the almost-done art piece on the wall you were vandalizing.

The outside was a pitch-black dark outlining a silhouette of an ambiguous individual who was waving. Whether they were waving facing away from you or at you was up to whoever was admiring it. The inside was going to be a detailed galaxy. And at the moment you were adding another layer of reddish-purple when a certain box turtle came out of the manhole nearby.

“Wow! I’m liking this already (Y/n)!” he says causing you to take out your headphones. You grin at him as he stands next to you, admiring your work.

“You say that about everything I make Mikey,” you say with a small chuckle. Putting away the reddish-purple and pulling out a dark blue. He grins widely and nods “That’s cause it’s always true!” he tells you. You laugh and shake your head as he takes the headphones hanging on your neck, putting them on his head. 

“Ooo! This song is new!” he says rocking side to side with the song. You giggle and shake your head “Man it’s been out since 2009, when we were, like, toddlers.” you tell him.

“Welp, I’ve never heard it before.” He shrugs.

“That makes sense I guess,” you say not really paying attention. You were thinking three steps ahead of where your painting really was. It made it easier to create an art piece, and it gave you a piece of mind. Made you feel organized in a way.

Mikey hugged you from behind, head resting on your shoulder. You gave a small sigh and rested your head upon his. Both of you staring at your half-finished artwork.

“You should add a bit of dark green,” Mikey commented thoughtfully. Slightly swaying you back and forth. You hummed at his suggestion “I don’t know, I feel like that would look weird.” you respond holding his hands that were wrapped around you.

“I think it would look great with the other colors! Plus a lot of galaxy pictures have some level of dark green.” He says you purse your lips. Taking his words into consideration.

“Mm, I need my tunes for this. They help me think man.” You say, sliding your headphones off of his head and putting them on your own. “And honestly, I’m left with no choice…” the song graces your ears and Mikey lets go of you. Taking one of your many pens and writing the song's chorus on his wrist. Knowing he’d have to listen to it later at some point.

In truth, Mikey felt like the song described him. Or at least how he felt, about you. Yeah, the lyrics weren’t a perfect match but hey! They were close.

You see, in the few months, Mikey had gotten to know you. He seemed to fall hopelessly in love with you. However, every time he got even close to confessing, he chickened out. Something the orange-clad turtle was not used to doing with his feelings. 

With each passing day, he’d gotten more determined to tell you his crush. To at least have some closure on the feelings whirling around inside him. He just wanted the perfect way of doing so.

“You know what, let’s risk it! I’m gonna use the dark green!” you tell him shuffling through your duffle bag of spray cans. He claps gleefully as he watches you create a fantastic masterpiece. Shooting him a dorky grin you’re unaware basically knocks him out as you turn toward the wall.

\--

“I mainly just feel bad about rejecting him so publicly.” April sighs, you pat her back as the guys attempt to reassure her that it was alright. April was just explaining how she rejected Dale, who had taken an uncalculated risk of singing her a love song in the middle of the cafeteria. Now you and the guys sat in the lair’s kitchen, sharing ice cream as you reminded her that boundaries are important.

“Well, he’s the one who chose to go public with it. He should’ve prepared himself for the potential public rejection.” You tell April, shoving a spoonful of (f/i/c) into your mouth. The guys nod in agreement and April sort of huffs. Running a hand down her face “I know.” she says with a slight groan.

“But?” Donnie inquired, knowing his best friend well enough to know there was more to the sentence than she was letting on. She takes a spoonful of cookie dough ice cream “But I still feel bad.” she whines before eating some more of the delicious cold treat.

“Yeah, but we’re just saying you don’t have to feel bad.” Leo states gesturing with spoon in hand “I mean, not like we can change your feelings on the matter…” Leo stops and looks at Donnie. Who shakes his head knowing what his brother was inquiring “Yeah!” Leo reasserts his statement. April laughs a bit, feeling a bit better after his antics.

“Well, personally if a guy sang me  _ my _ favorite song I’d just have to marry him.” You joke with a small laugh. Earning an eye roll from April. Mikey perks up at the statement “For real?” he asks, trying to hold back the obvious light bulb flashing in his mind. You look at him a bit surprised before shrugging.

“I mean yeah, if I liked him anyways. It’s just a really sweet gesture.” You respond before taking another spoonful of your ice cream. Moving it just out of Leo’s “sneaky” attempt to steal some. Sticking your tongue out at him when he whines. 

Raph looks to his youngest sibling, noticing his now purely thoughtful silence.

\--

“What’d you think (y/n) favorite song is?” Mikey went around asking everyone for the next week to see if they had the answer.

Donnie shrugged before telling him to get out of his lab.

Leo said  _ his _ favorite song, but couldn’t confirm that it was yours.

April said she would ask but Mikey said that would be suspicious. So she just said she didn’t know.

Meat Sweats was purely confused at Mikey’s question. He didn’t even know who you were.

The cats in the back alley merely hissed and ran away at any attempt at contact with them.

“Oh, (y/n) told me that ‘Trouble’ from… uh… NeverShoutNever? Yeah, I think that’s it, was one of ‘em.” Raph says, making Mikey stop in his tracks.

“Wait, how would you even know?” Mikey asks “(Y/n) never even told  _ me _ that!” he comments in surprise. Raph shrugs “I heard you’d been asking around. So I asked ‘em. (Y/n) said ‘Recently I’ve been kinda  _ obsessed _ with  _ Trouble _ by  _ NeverShoutNever _ .’ or something similar.” Raph quoted you before returning to his reread of a Jupiter Jim comic.

Mikey quickly goes to his room, hopping onto his computer and searching up the lyrics he’d soon become obsessed with memorizing.

\--

“Mikey,” you giggle as he leads you somewhere with a blindfold “what could this ‘surprise’ possibly be?” you ask. He turns to you, though you can’t see it “You’ll just have to wait! I can’t spoil your surprise ya know!” he tells you. Giving a light tug as he reaches the destination.

“Okay, okay, okay! We’re here!” Mikey says giddily, moving to take off your blindfold. You open your eyes as he pulls the fold away from you and looked surprised. 

You were standing right in front of your first-ever graffiti art. A small wooden stool and a speaker sat right in front of it. 

“I… I thought this got painted over by someone else.” You say looking at the refurbished art piece. Mikey nods, grinning from ear to ear “It was! But I took some time to paint it back to its old self!” he states with a small bit of pride.

_ Okay _ , Mikey thought to himself  _ now for the hard part _ . He moved and sat down onto the stool. You looked at him in wonder, curious as to what your box turtle friend was up to.

“I… have something to confess,” Mikey says, making you look at him with confusion. He takes a deep breath. Turning on the speaker to a tune you basically knew by heart.

You become simply stunned as Mikey sings to you, making your heart melt. For you had fallen in love with the Orange turtle almost the moment you two met. Him sweeping you off your feet with his wonderfully sweet personality and infectious joy. You frequently told yourself that it wouldn’t happen. That he’d never be into someone as lame and corny as you.

Yet here he was, singing your favorite song in an attempt to win your already won heart.

You tackle him to the ground as he finishes the song. Not giving him a chance to even see your reaction. You grip him in a tight hug. Pulling away to kiss him, making Mikey completely breathless. He hummed into the kiss. A small smile on both your faces as you broke apart.

“You didn’t even give me a chance to ask.” he joked, eyes filled with love as you giggled at him. Instead of answering you kissed him again.


	7. Rise! Raph x Reader: “What The Heck I Gotta Do?”

“Come on Raph! Me and April need to practice for our exam!” You whine, dragging Raph to the main area of the lair. Raph - not really - begrudgingly let you tug him there. You were trying to get him to help you with an exam project you and April had in your Theater class.

You technically had four other partners who you needed to practice with. However, while you didn’t lie to Raph, practice wasn’t the only thing on your agenda today. The class project was getting into groups and doing your own rendition of a song from a musical. You cleverly choose “What the Heck I Gotta Do?” from  _ 21 Chump Street _ as both an easy A and a way to finally confess your crush to the snapper you had been dragging.

You’d been trying to make the perfect plan for weeks. Wanting to finally let the large turtle know how you feel. Especially after the several talks with “Dr. Feelings” about not bottling up your emotions and getting over the fear of rejection.

The second part hadn’t really worked. But you figured wowing your crush made it more likely for him to say yes. Which inspired the enlisting of Donnie, Leo, Mikey, and April to help out with your plan.

The plan was simple, you went through and changed the lyrics of the song to fit Raph’s description. So he would know you  _ were _ actually singing to him. Then near the end, you were going to have Donnie, Leo, and Mikey hold up cards that made out the sentence: “What the heck I gotta do, for you to be with me?” 

Yeah, it was corny and could probably be improved. However, you didn’t care. 

“About time! For a second I thought  _ I _ was gonna have to drag him out.” April says as she and Donnie finish setting up the table for April to sit at.

“April’s gonna be the narrator. Mikey, Don, and Leo are the extras, so you have the easiest part!” You explain to Raph, having him take a seat in one of the “desks” - it’s really just a seat and nothing else - he looks at you confused.

“Wouldn’t being an extra be the easiest part?” he asks you, awkwardly trying to adjust without breaking the seat beneath him. Leo walks past him, setting up another one of the “desks” a bit off from being directly behind Raph “Trust me, I’ve seen the script. (Y/n) is giving you the easiest part.” he states leaning on the chair he just set up. Raph looks back to you.

“So, what do I do?” he asks hands fiddling around on his lap.

“You play Noami! Justin’s love interest!” Mikey exclaims, hanging off his eldest brother's shell. Raph looks at you with a small blush. You don’t notice though as the closer you get to the execution, the more nervous you were becoming. You give him a big grin and point to yourself “Yup! And I’m Justin in this!” you state with false pride. Helping set up the last chair as Donnie put on his speakers of the music.

“W… wouldn’t Donnie be a better partner for this part? Since, ya know, he’s a theater nerd like you?” Raph asked, seeming almost as nervous as you felt. You figured he was probably nervous about breaking the very creaky chair underneath him. 

“I’m not interested in playing a love interest, thanks,” Donnie spoke up as he finished setting up the last of the speakers, everyone moving to their places to get the plan started. That was a lie, Donnie was eager to play any and all the parts of a play. But he was trying to help you out here. And he would never actually admit that to his brothers.

Raph hums but doesn’t make a comment. April cleared her throat as the music began.

“The plan was called ‘Operation D-minus’. And one of the schools included in the plan. Was Park Vista Community High School. Where a kid named Justin Laboy-” April read from the script, trying to hold back her own giddy excitement of what was to come.

“That’s me!” you sang, gesturing to yourself in an exaggeratedly dorky manner. Raph smiled as he watched you. 

“An eighteen-year-old honor roll student-”

“I get straight A’s man!” you state, your movements making everyone in the room hold back a giggle. April couldn’t help but let a bit of it slip out as she continued reading the script in front of her.

“Was in the last semester of his senior year. Justin could hardly believe his luck when a very handsome turtle showed up.” April spoke, catching Raph’s attention. Last he checked, Noami was a girl and not a mutant turtle. He didn’t know if he was hearing things or if this wasn’t what you told him. 

“Raphie!” Donnie, Leo, and Mikey harmonized. Raph began to turn red, slightly unsure of what was happening. He was partly stuck to his seat, unsure of what to do. 

“In not one, but two of his classes.” Okay, so you didn’t change  _ all _ the lyrics, clearly. But whatever, this was an idea from 1 am and it was too late to change it now. Plus, you changed all the important parts, the parts you thought mattered. Which for you was all the ones involving Raph.

You slid into the seat right behind Leo, who was seated across from Raph. 

“Raph sat in front of him, he switched seats.” You lightly tap Leo’s shoulder and you two quickly change positions. The five of you, you, Donnie, Leo, Mikey, and April, practiced your movements a few weeks in advance. You wanted this to be as perfect as possible. 

“(Y/N) what drew you to Raph in the first place?” April asked, catching you a bit off guard. You had initially left it as Justin for the entire musical bit. But you quickly shook it off, turning to look at Raph. Looking a tad like a lovesick puppy.

“Man, we met on the rooftop remember that?” You asked with a content sigh, looking away closing your eyes at the memory. Also to calm your raging nerves, trying to pretend that Raph wasn’t there and April asked it in private.

“He’s a green-skinned, alligator snapping turtle. Mutant, mature with a body like, whoa.”

“Like whoa!” Donnie, Leo, and Mikey copied. Bringing you back to your reality. You open your eyes and look at Raph, who looked like he could die at any moment. You gulped down your pride and fear and looked him dead in the eyes.

“That’s not the only reason I like you though. You told me you lived in sewers with your brothers in New York-” You followed the script, it was the reason you made it the first place. Your mind, you were losing any words you could’ve used. Falling back on the ones you rewrote to fit the song

“Where dreams are made!” The boys sang, leaning against you and facing Raph. It calmed you, making you smile just a bit.

“And I, was fascinated. So I said hi.” The next few words got caught in your throat. As distressing thought came into your mind.

_ What if you're making him feel guilty because he’s not into you? _

The thought made you stop everything. As an unexpected deep fear and guilt entered you. Looking at what you misinterpreted as a fearful and pitying expression from Raph. You stood up and signaled April to stop the music. Who scrambled to stop as she was surprised at your sudden change. She thought it was all going well.

“I’m… I’m so sorry.” You spoke barely above a whisper, speed walking away from the scene. Running once you were really out of sight, your heart panicking like an animal in a cage. Everyone froze, this wasn’t like you at all. It was Mikey who unfrozen from his surprised state to come after you. Wondering why you stopped such a wonderful thing.

By the time he caught up, you were just about to leave the alleyway.

“Wait! Wait! (Y/n)! What happened!?” Mikey asked, stopping you in your tracks. You turn back to face him and wave your hands as if you were backing down from a fight.

“Look, I just, I can’t okay? This was a bad idea, I’m so sorry.” You held back the urge to repeat your apology. You really did feel bad, the guys had been practicing it for weeks and were so eager to help. You ran a hand through your hair, lightly tugging it as a comfort when you reached its end. 

Mikey walked up to you with concern in his eyes, lightly gripping your arm as a form of comfort. Slowly you met his eyes as a shaky breath decided to make its way out of you. He pulled you into a tight hug “It’s okay, you don’t need to be sorry.” he said, you buried your face into his neck. Holding back the stinging tears in your eyes. Crying? Why were you crying? Everything felt fine just moments before. You tighten your grip on Mikey subconsciously. 

“(Y/n)? Are you okay?” You freeze as you recognize the voice you fell in love with months ago. Mikey slowly pulls himself from you and you look at the turtle you loved, and right now, also feared. 

Mikey looks to you, asking with his eyes if he should leave you two alone. You nod and with that Mikey quietly leaves the scene. Though, not really as everyone peaks just under the manhole cover.

You gulped down your ego, preparing for rejection. But silence sat between you and Raph, uncomfortably poking the both of you. Raph cleared his throat.

“April told me you rewrote that song all yourself,” he states awkwardly. You nod “Yup, I did.” you reply not meeting his eyes. Another slice of silence between you two.

“God, why are they so awkward, they’re usually loud,” Donnie whispers, earning an elbow from his best friend. She glared at him “Because Raph's bad at expressing his feelings verbally.” April hissed at him. Mikey nodded “And (Y/n)’s probably expecting rejection, wanting Raph to rip it off like a band-aid.” Mikey comments. Leo shushes the group “I’m trying to  _ listen _ .” he huffs, despite there nothing to be listened to.

“It was really nice.” Raph finally speaks up, attempting to make conversation. You shrug awkwardly, unsure of how to respond to the compliment. Pursing your lips before you let out a small sigh.

“Look, I’m sorry, I know I probably made you uncomfortable when I should’ve just asked you privately so you could reject me without feeling guilty but I-”

“Uncomfortable?” Raph stops your rambling apology in its tracks. You look at him surprised at his phrasing the words like a question. You nod. He grins at you, his snaggletooth showing itself.

“(Y/n) that’s probably the second nicest thing anyones ever done for me.” He tells you. You can’t stop the curious grin spreading across your own face “Second?” you ask him.

“Well, there’s the pizza-”

“Oh right, the pizza cake,” you recall snapping your fingers. You both let out a small chuckle at the memory. Your heart calms down as you do so. Raph moves closer to you, gently taking your hands in his. You can’t stop the blush rising across your face. You look at him in his eyes. 

“(Y/n) what the heck I gotta do, to be with you?.” he asks, you can’t stop the dorky grin from spreading across your face. Yanking him by the neck and pulling him in for a kiss.

He grins and melts into it, holding you close. 

April, Donnie, Leo, and Mikey all attempt to cheer as quietly as possible. All of them happy that you two finally ended up together.

“So, who told him to say that?” Mikey asks, Leo point’s to himself proudly.

“Why, the one and only romancer of course!” he states, earning an eye roll from everyone.

“Say that when you actually get a partner.” April sass, making him deflate a bit. 

You and Raph watch this from the alleyway. You look to Raph “Did he really tell you to say that?” you ask with a small chuckle.

“Hey, it worked okay?”


	8. Rise! Raph x Reader: “The Only Exception”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you leave a comment. I KNOW the words don't 100% match the lyrics, that was on purpose so the conversation felt more natural. Thank you and enjoy!

“When I was younger I saw my daddy cry, and curse at the wind. He broke his own heart and I watched. As he tried to reassemble it,” You told Raph one late evening. You two were sitting on the rooftop of your home. A couple of empty cans of your favorite soda and a box of Pizza that was probably cold now. 

You weren’t even sure how the conversation led to this. Talking about your life, maybe it was because Raph caused where your dad was. Why you never brought him up but talked about your mom and brothers like they were your world. Because, well, they were. And he… wasn’t.

You shrugged, not really giving Raph a chance to comfort you as you continued “And my momma swore. That she would never let herself forget,” you say with a small sigh. You had been looking forward the whole time, but you finally looked at him. Now you remembered how the conversation began. 

He asked why you hated the idea of romance.

“And that was the day that I promised. I'd never speak of love if it does not exist.”

You didn’t mean it in an angry way. You weren’t angry, or sad, or afraid whenever you had to talk about it. Or explain it. You felt… empty. Or, maybe neutral? All you knew was you didn’t think you’d ever fall in love.

Because your parents thought they did, and they were wrong. So how could you?

Raph’s phone rings and he realizes he needs to go. Saying your goodbyes you sneak back into your window to sleep.

\--

It's been weeks since you two talked about it. But it’d been on Raph’s mind the whole time. To the point, his brothers began to notice how often they thought he was. But he would never tell them about what you said that night. As he felt it wasn’t his to say, to which he’d be right.

He could never… could never imagine not believing in love. Especially when he looked at you.

Your smile, your laugh. The way you carried yourself, the way you spoke. The way you held yourself, making others know you were  _ there _ , and you were going to take up space whether they liked it or not. He admired you, both afar and up close. And it was obvious to everyone.

Everyone but you anyways.

That conversation echoed in his head like a record on loop. But as he looked into your eyes as you smiled at him.

He wondered if you’d make an exception, just for him.

\--

“Maybe I know somewhere in my soul, that love never lasts,” You told Mikey. Or, er, Dr. Feelings. The persona taking a thoughtful nod as you spoke. You shuffled awkwardly in the seat, not used to just  _ talking _ about stuff like this so openly.

Mikey told you that you had to have a session with Dr. Feelings. That everyone in their little mismatched family had at least one session with him. Heck, even Donnie gave some weird level of approval of it. So you had to at least  _ try _ .

But you weren’t expecting it to be Mikey with glasses and a turtle neck.

“I’ve always lived like this,” You tell Dr. Feelings, you had urged you to keep going when you fell silent “keeping a comfortable… distance,” you remembered the reason you’d even come there in the first place. And you can’t help but cringe on yourself. Still coming to terms with the whole idea.

“And, up until now I had sworn to myself I was content,” You say, you were making quick and small gestures. As if they would better explain your emotions than your words could.

“And why’s that?” Dr. Feeling asks, not mockingly like you kept thinking he would. But seemingly genuinely intrigued, leaning back in his own chair as he looked at you expectantly. You shrugged.

“Because none of it was ever worth the risk?” You take a stab of a guess, shaking your head a bit as if the notion was ridiculous. Putting a hand through your hair in particle frustration. Dr. Feelings moved, elbows on his knees as his hands clasped together.

“And your saying Raph  _ is _ worth the risk, is that right (Y/N)?” He asks you, making direct eye contact in a way that made you feel like you were staring directly at your problems. But not in a way that made you feel  _ forced _ into staring at them. Still, you tighten up a bit at the notion.

Before taking a sigh to relax yourself, and nod.

“He’s… my only exception.” 

Dr. Feelings-  _ Mikey _ \- smiles at you. Sitting up straight once again.

\--

After a few months of Mikey gently pressing for you to confess your feelings. You finally gave in due to what he said.

“Think of it this way, even if he rejects you it can be your first step to moving on.”

And, now thinking about it. You regret letting Mikey talk you into this. As you sit on the rooftop in peaceful silence next to Raph. Empty cans sprawled around you with a box of pizza that was probably cold by now. 

Neither of you said anything for a little while. Just settling in the peaceful quiet you shared, and you had been stalling. But finally, you took a sigh, knowing Mikey would probably pull another “Dr. Feelings” or something out on you if you chickened out now.

“Look, I've got a tight grip on reality,” You say, looking at Raph. He looks at you with the confused tilt of his head. You gulped down your fear, and your pride, and took his hand. Looking at him with a bundle of emotions that looked as though they would burst out of you at any moment. A rough blush covering your cheeks as you stared into his eyes. The intensity making Raph blush as well.

“But I can't let go of what's in front of me here,” You pull on his hand gently, trying to tell him it was  _ him _ . He was what you couldn’t let go of. Raph blushes deeper at the action and as the words settle into his mind.

“What… what do you mean?” he asks, almost in disbelief. As if this was a dream. You let out a struggling sigh, trying to keep yourself together as much as possible.

“I mean, I don’t believe in many things. And I may not believe in love at first sight, or that love will last forever. But I do believe I  _ love  _ you Raph,” You take a shaky huff and get closer to him. A part of you wishing to kiss him but you opt-out, cupping his face gently with your hand “ _ You _ are the only exception Raph.” you whisper.

He looks at you dumbfounded. His mind processes all of what you said to him. You falter, believing he is about to reject you. Beginning to curse yourself for doing  _ any _ of this when.

He kisses you. On the cheek ever so gently, holding both your hands. The tears you’d been holding back as much as possible practically popped out of you. You tackle him into a hug. Holding him as if he’d disappear in a second if you let him go. You were laughing too, relieved.  _ So _ relieved as the tension knotted up inside you finally dissipated. 

You pull back, wiping the tears off your face as you stared at him with the biggest grin he’d ever seen on your face. Him unable to keep his own from growing.

And with that, you kiss him.

_ And I’m on my way to believing. _


	9. Rise! April x Reader: “Miss Independent”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, not all too proud of this one. But it's too late now.

“So, by keeping her heart protected / She'd never ever feel rejected / Little miss apprehensive  / Said ooh, she fell in love,” You sang jokingly with the song as it played on the radio. You leaned back in the chair as you and April waited for the boys to give the signal. It was your first cannonball night and you were tasked with helping April keep other people off the pool roof.

“I still think I should be-”

“No (Y/N), not unless you want a broken bone with how bad your aim is.”

“Hey!” You say with a big grin, lightly swatting April's shoulder at the call out. She can’t help but laugh as she barely moves out of the way of your arm. You two giggle a bit before silence falls between you two. The radio is the only thing making noise.

“Miss if you want to use that line you better not start, no / But she miscalculated / She didn't want to end up jaded / And this miss decided not to miss out on true love / So, by changing her misconceptions / She went in a new direction / And found inside she felt a connection / She fell in love.”

“I felt that.”

You can’t help but let out a laugh at April’s unexpected comment. Turning to her with a curious grin.

“What? Are you saying you’re in love with someone April?” You ask jokingly, expecting a witty comment back. Instead, she takes a very  _ slow _ sip of her soda. And you wait for a response, her still taking an even  _ slower _ sip when-

Oh….  _ oh _

“OH MI GOSH!! Who? Whhhhhhho!!??” You begin to ask, hopping up and down in your excitement. Before stopping, throwing your hands up “Hold on, Sunita? Dale- no, forget I said, Dale. Donnie?? LEO???” You ask inching on the edge of your chair towards her. She can’t help but chuckle at your reaction.

“No, why would you think it’s any of them?” She asks and you stop, deflating a bit with a shrug.

“I mean, Sunita’s fantastic, and you hang out with her a lot. Donnie’s the ‘Best friends to lovers’ trope, and Leo’s the ‘Best friends brother’ trope. So- yeah,” You say, trying not to add your own thoughts.

_ Because, how could you love me? _

You shake it off, trying to be happy for April. She was one of your first friends ever since you’d moved to New York. And with that, you’d begun to fall for her. And how could you not? She was fun and kind, and was chaotic, and always a delight to be around. 

And, according to you, she was  _ way _ out of your league. 

“Well, no, it’s not any of them,” she says with a gentle smile. You partially pout as she doesn’t answer your question.

“Well, then who? I wanna know!”

“Why do you wanna know so bad?”

“ _ Because _ you're my friend, and I wanna support you!” You say with a ‘duh’ tone as though it was the most obvious hit in the world. She looks at you in a way you can’t place as if she’s trying to get you to read her mind. Which, last you checked, you couldn’t do. But before she could say anything, if she was going to, the walkie Raph gave you guys finally went off.

_ “Yellow submarine, are we clear?” _ Raph asks on the other side of the walkie. You snicker a bit at the nickname and look at April, mouthing the nickname to her. She rolls her eyes and grabs the walkie, beginning to move things you follow in suit.

“Affirmative Red Rover,” April responds, putting the walkie on the table now far away from the pool. You pull out your phone as you see Donnie’s grapple hook land on the construction site behind you.

Pressing the recording as the boy’s slide toward you. Causing an epic splash that covers you and April completely.

\--

It’s been a few weeks since that conversation with April. And she’d been admitted in keeping it from you. Making you both more intrigued, and kinda frustrated. Was it that she didn’t trust you? Did she think you’d judge her taste in people?

_ With your dating history, unlikely. _

You huff a bit as you make your way to the lair. It was movie night and you  _ finally _ agreed to a Jupiter Jim movie marathon. Though you still thought the series was stupid but hey, at least you can make fun of it while it plays. 

“What is the feelin' takin' over? / Thinkin' no one could open my door / Surprise, It's time / To feel what's real,” You mumble the lyrics, the song being stuck in your head even though you’d listened to it  _ three weeks ago _ . Still, you lightly bounced your head to the imaginary beat as you popped open the sewer grate.

“Sup LOSERS!” You joked bursting into the Lair. Mikey obviously cooking in the kitchen as Donnie and Leo put down more pillows and blankets in the living room. The two greet you with a wave, used to your antics at this point. And you look around curiously.

“Heya, where’s Raph?” You ask before helping Leo place down another blanket.

“He’s with April getting the Pizza,” Leo says and you nod a bit. He looks at you as you go back into thought. 

“Uh, you okay?” He asks, crossing his arms and tilting his head. You look at him and purse your lips. I mean, they gotta know right? They’re basically her brothers at this point. You let out a tiny sigh.

“Yeah, I mean, April kinda told me she had a crush on someone but didn’t say who and I’ve been trying to think about who it could be ‘cause she won’t tell me  _ who _ it is and-”

“Alright, alright slow down homie,” He says, moving to lightly touch your arms as you begin to ramble. Clearly descending into “should I even be saying this right now or am I stupid” mode. You look at him slightly exasperated.

“It’s just, I thought we were close but. Like, if she doesn’t trust me to tell me her crush then- I don’t know. I mean, I don’t wanna force her into anything but- I guess I was hoping she’d trust me.” You still ramble, now shrugging a bit as your arms fall to your side. Leo looks at you with a small smile. Not his smug one or his mischievous one. But a comforting one that makes you take a slow breath.

“I mean, I think it’s kinda obvious who she has a crush on, but that’s just me.” 

“Wait so you  _ know? _ ”

“Yeah,” he says as April and Raph walk back in with Pizza. He looks over to them, his smile turning more mischievous and that makes you nervous. Donnie’s walking back, clearly aiming to get comfortable as Mikey walks out with a bowl of popcorn.

“Hey! Everyone raise a hand if you know who April’s crush is!” Leo shouts into the room before anyone can say anything. You look around. Donnie has his hand up lackadaisical as he plops into the bean bag chair. Mikey had his hand up before almost spilling the popcorn.

Raph had his hands up as April buried her head in her hands. Leo, of course, had his hand up and looked at you smugly. Waiting for you to process.

… Oh

_ O H _

“Me? It’s me!?” You ask around the room in surprise and Leo can’t help but let out a laugh at your reaction. You look at April with wide eyes and a deep blush for confirmation. She shyly nods, not looking at you as her hands stay covering her face.

“I think.. we should give these two a moment. I’ll serve Pizza in the kitchen.” Raph says, leading the other three into the kitchen. All of them  _ totally _ not peaking out to watch you two talk.

“Wait, seriously, it’s me? Why didn’t you say anything back on the roof?”

“I chickened out! You looked at me so- cluelessly and it was cute and-”

“You think I’m  _ cute _ !?” You say, trying to get a laugh out of her as you moved closer. 

“No duh!” She laughs, wacking your arm a bit. Her relaxing as she smiles at you. Clearly still nervous as she shifted on her feet. You lightly grab her hands

“You know what this means right?” You ask her, she looks at you confused but still smiling.

“It means, YOUR DATING ME! NO TAKE BACKS!” You scream out, pointing to her. She laughs again and shakes her head at you, but still grin like a big dork

“Oh god, I regret this already.”

“Well too late little miss independent! I’m yours and yours alone now!” You joke looping your arm with hers and leading her to the kitchen.

\--

The boys were well asleep now, you and April cuddled up together sleepily as you watched them. All mouths agape as Raph let out a revving snore that could shake the lair.

“Man, and I thought I was an ugly sleeper,” You joke holding April's hand gently. She looks at you for a moment, no response making you turn to her.

“You meant it right? That we’re dating? You didn’t just do that to make me laugh and feel better right?” 

You look at April surprised. With her glasses off and her hair down, not only did she look gorgeous. She looked vulnerable. Insecure in a way you didn’t think was possible for her.

“Yeah, of course, I meant it, I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t, why?” You shuffle a bit to get a better look at her. She shrugs, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. You put a hand up to her cheek and gently rub your thumb across it.

“I just… I don’t know…” She says leaning into your touch. The two of you lean closer, before closing the gap between you two. A sweet kiss that eased her worries and made her relax in your arms. You two pull away both with love-struck smiles.

“Just to be sure, can you kiss me again?”

“Smooth April, real smooth,” You joke, before kissing her again.


	10. Rise! April x Reader: “Always On My Mind”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S THE LAST ONE! THE LAST MELON!!
> 
> I liked this one better than the first. Tho it's shorter I feel as tho I wrote it better. So I hope you guys like it too!

“Even if I try, even if I try / You’ll still be on my mind / You’ll still be on my mind / And I stay up all night / Thinking ‘bout you!” You sang stirring the bowl of cookie ingredients. You were making a batch to help with April’s Tree Fundraiser. 

Another batch was in the oven already. Filling up the kitchen with the heavenly aroma of classical chocolate chips. Now your only hope was that  _ you _ didn’t get tempted to eat them all before tomorrow. You spray down the next tray and begin making your small dough balls. Nodding your head lightly along with the music that blared through the house.

Blaring so loudly, you didn’t hear April come in. She went straight to the kitchen to greet you. Before stopping with a smile on her face, watching you sway in tune to the music. Completely in the zone. You had a small blissful smile on your face that made April swoon a bit as she watched you, leaning on the doorway. A small lovestruck smile of her own across her face.

“I know we can work things out together / You know that I'll be right here forever,” You mumbled along with the song. Focusing more on making sure all the dough balls you’d made were all even in size. 

With one tray filled you’d moved it to sit atop the stove. Turning back to grab the second tray as you finally notice April standing there staring at you. You can’t stop the smile from growing on your own face as you see her.

“Hey,” You say, making her realize she’d been caught. She looks down a bit embarrassed, her smile growing a bit.

“Hey,” She says walking over to you, giving you a light peck on the cheek. That even after three months of it, still makes you weak in the knees. She stills a bit of the batter and pops it in her mouth making you snap out of your dumbstruck haze.

“Hey! No eating any until the bake sale is over missy!” You joke, pointing a messy finger at her. She sticks her tongue out at you. The timer goes off and she goes to pull out the cookies. Humming a sound of delight as the smell of freshly baked cookies fills the house. 

“Thank you again, by the way, for helping me out,” April says putting the fresh batch on the counter away from the both of you to cool. You shrug and look at her.

“It’s the least I could do Love,” You say, her heart skipping a beat at the nickname. 

You begin to hum with the song, you had it on in an hour loop. Having fallen in love with it when April showed it to you one day. April puts the already filled try in the oven. The two of you doing a small dance so as to not bump into one another.

“How long?” April asks as you hear the light tap of the oven closing. She leans over the stove, lightly pressing the buttons awaiting your answer.

“For those? ‘Bout fifteen minutes,'' You say as you continue putting down dough balls, sparing a glance at April’s direction. She nods and puts a timer on for fifteen minutes before walking around where you could see her.

And the two of you sit content. Just enjoying each other's presence as you finish the last tray.

You place it on the stove and go to wash your hands. April moving the dirty dishes into the sink as you washed off the sticky dough from your hands. The two of you cleaning in a peaceful silence. The song looping for the last time.

“So, wanna watch a movie?” April asks as you finish up.

“Of course mi amore!”

The two of you move two the living room. Putting on a movie that neither of you paid attention to. Mostly just taking the other in as you cuddled. Hands holding each other with delicacy, as if just the tiniest piece of pressure would break the other. You sigh in content.

You could live forever like this. 


End file.
